A Shorter Distance Than Expected
by StarPurpleandBlue
Summary: On that hot summer night, Marco only wanted to rest at home after a tiring trip. His brother had other plans, though, and convinced the blond to accompany him to a club. Instead of being bored, he found himself with the interesting company of a handsome brunet, making the night not seem that bad. But of course nothing is ever easy for him.


_**A/N:**_ Yo! So, here's my contribution to the MarcoAce Week on Tumblr. It's for _Day 3: Modern AU_, though I'm seriously late at publishing this. I actually mistook the day and when I discovered it was Tuesday I saw I wouldn't be able to finish it in time (I get side-tracked a lot and am a slow writer, what can I do XP). Well, it's here now, at least.

This first began based on a movie called Medianeras: Buenos Aires in times of virtual love, but then my idea changed and yea. This was the result. I'm not completely satisfied with it (especially the ending), as I had to hurry a lot to be able to finish it, but it's what I could make. I was half-asleep most of the time I was writing this too, so I hope it's not so bad.

This has now been betaread by _lunarshores_! :D

Anyway, that's it. I already have the one-shot for Day 7 ready, so I can go back to my other fic now. Hope you guys enjoy it!

* * *

Summer was definitely not Marco's favorite season. The scorching heat and lack of strong breezes formed a debilitating combination that made even a simple trip to the bakery be a challenge. The nights weren't so bad, since it cooled down to a more bearable temperature when the sun went down, though it was still too hot for Marco's taste. It was during summer that he most wanted to flee to a country where it was winter or, if his job didn't allow him to do that, at least take refuge in places that had air-conditioning.

But of course he wasn't that lucky this time.

So there he was, on a hot summer night on the street accompanying Thatch, who had somehow convinced him to go to a club. And the best part? He had just returned from a long flight and was _tired_.

He couldn't believe he had let Thatch convince him to go out of his apartment.

Putting his hand in one of the pockets of his pants, Marco searched for his pack of cigarettes. When he found it, pulled one and lit it up with his lighter. He inhaled then exhaled slowly, watching the smoke drift into the sky. Marco sighed.

Despite the club having air-conditioning, there were too many people inside so depending on how far you were from the bar, it was almost the same as outside. Because of this - and because he had little reason to stay, since Thatch had gotten distracted almost immediately - he decided to relax outside a bit, using the excuse that he had to go smoke.

He knew that his brother had had good intentions when he forced him to go to the club. Although most of them thought that he didn't realize, Marco knew _very well_ about his siblings' plan to get the blond interested in someone. He had been single for a long time, and they were determined to help him find someone whether he wanted to or not.

However, it never worked, whether they took him to different places or introduced people to him. None of them really caught his eye. He had even tried dating one of those people once, but it didn't work out in the end. That only made they seem even more determined to find the blond someone, which only succeeded in trying his patience.

Honestly, he was _fine_. Sure, having someone that he could sleep next to every night and wake up with the next day would be great. But if almost no one could hold his attention and with the ones who did, it never worked out in the long term, what was he supposed to do?

He was ready to put out his cigarette and go back into the club - he had to admit it was a bit cooler there, which at the time sounded even better than the relative peace- when the doors of the place opened. The sound of several voices talking and the background music reached his ears and made him turn towards the door.

Several people entered the club while others left - a couple who didn't seem able to keep their hands to themselves, a group of friends laughing and some people who Marco wasn't able to tell whether they were alone or with someone else. None of them seemed to pay attention to him, so the blond soon lost interest and looked away.

_Maybe I should go look for Thatch. Or at least get a drink. I need something to keep me awake for a while longer until I go home._ Marco thought, holding back a yawn.

"Damn!" The sudden exclamation followed by the sound of several things hitting the floorcaught the blond's attention again.

He turned and saw a teenager holding a piece of crumpled aluminum foil in his hand as he glared at the other objects that were scattered on the ground around him.

"Fuck, I knew I should have taken all that out of this pocket before leaving." He muttered to himself while crouching.

Marco quickly put out his cigarette and threw it away in a nearby trashcan before bending down and picking up a bunch of keys and a rubber that had fallen near him. _What a combination of things to carry around..._ The blond thought, amused, as he watched the brunet catch a ball of paper, what looked like a piece of blue cellophane, earphones, a rubber band and a cellphone.

"Here." The blond held out his hand with the objects.

The teen looked at him surprised before grinning. "Oh, thank you!" And after throwing the aluminum foil and paper balls away, he shoved everything but his cellphone back in the pocket of his shorts.

Now that he was closer Marco realized that the teen was actually older than he had first thought – probably around twenty-something. He had boyish freckles that fit him surprisingly well but gave him a young and innocent look, even with his impressive physique. Other than that, his cheeks looked slightly red, and he was a bit breathless, indicating that he had been dancing in the club or had already dranka bit too much - maybe both. However, the way his gray eyes moved quickly and focused on the screen of his cellphone showed that he was still quite sober.

Marco shook his head mentally; he must have seemed like a weirdo standing there staring at the other like that. The blond took out his own cell phone and saw, to his dismay, that it still wasn't late. He still had to wait at least a little bit longer before telling Thatch he was leaving - otherwise he would have to listen his brother complain in his ear for quite a while after - so he'd have to go get a drink or light another cigarette.

Before he could make his decision, the brunet sighed and put his phone in his pocket with a frown. "False alarm. These messages with offers are annoying as hell." Marco didn't know if he was talking with him or with himself, so he simply nodded.

The young man rolled his eyes and smiled slightly while tilting his head. "Why the long face?"

"Sorry?" Marco asked surprised.

The brunet shrugged. "It's just that you seem upset."

"I don't really want to be here tonight." Marco said as he watched the other lean against the wall beside the entrance to the club.

The brunet hummed thoughtfully. "You were dragged along?" His tone was amused.

Marco sighed. "Something like that, yoi." He leaned against the wall like the other. He hadn't been expecting the brunet to start a conversation, but since he had, he'd enjoy the momentary company. "The night is too hot to do anything."

"I guess you're right." The young man ran a hand through his hair. "Even with the air-conditioning of the club, it's not cold there, so you can't really dance comfortably."

That was when a smile spread across the brunet's face before he started searching for something in the other pocket of his shorts. Not long after, he was waving some pieces of slightly crumpled paper in front of Marco's face.

"What's that?" The blond frowned and grabbed the younger man's wrist. Looking closely, he realized that every paper had ice cream pictures printed on them.

"They are coupons!" The brunet replied cheerfully. "To an ice cream shop that's close to here! And, if I'm not mistaken, it's still open!"

"And?" Marco raised an eyebrow.

"Do you like ice cream?"

"Yes..?"

"Are you asking me or answering me?" When he saw Marco's glare, the young man chuckled. "Well, how about we go there? It's on this block, only it faces the lagoon."

"Are you really inviting a stranger with who you've barely spoken for five minutes to go eat ice cream?" Marco looked amused at the brunet.

"I'm Ace. What's your name?" The young man asked holding out his free hand.

"Marco, yoi." The blond shook his hand.

"See? Now we're no longer strangers." Ace smiled, not bothered by the strangeness of his offer**. **"Also, there are still many people on the street, and I'm pretty strong. If anything happens, I can defend myself. So, what do you say?"

Marco almost snorted at the brunet's overconfidence, but something in those gray eyes indicated that maybe it wasn't as unlikely as it seemed.

The blond looked straight into the other's eyes and searched for anything that said he had some ulterior motive. He found nothing but something urged him to go with the brunet. _Interesting. And it's not like I have anything better to do, anyway._

"Why not?"

So, after directing another grin at him, the young man began to walk away beckoning to Marco.

Along the way, Ace began to talk about various subjects and Marco, to his surprise, found himself talking too and even laughing. Somehow, it was very easy to talk to the young man, and the blond realized that this must have been something from his personality when they entered the ice cream shop and some people - both customers and workers - greeted him with smiles. He was definitely sociable.

"Here's one for you." Ace put one of the crumpled coupons on the blond's hand. "It's worth a simple ice cream, but at least it's something. And it's free."

Marco shook his head. "You don't have to give it to me, really. I can pay."

But Ace only waved his hand disregarding that. "I did it because I wanted to. Besides, I still have many others." He pointed at the other coupons before putting them back in his pocket.

"If you say so."

Not long after, both were leaving the place, each with an ice cream. Instead of turning to go back to the club or to sit at a table outside, where some other people were talking quietly, Ace waved at him to follow him and crossed the street, heading toward a small pier.

Once there, Marco saw that, besides a group of teenagers laughing and murmuring between them, no one else was there, giving the place a comforting almost silence. To the blond's delight, a light breeze was blowing, which accompanied by the ice cream was all he needed to feel better about the heat.

Marco felt the corners of his mouth curling up into a serene smile while he sat and watched the lagoon. In the end it hadn't been a bad idea to follow Ace.

"Are you feeling better?" Ace's voice took him from his thoughts. He turned around and saw the brunet smiling at him.

"What?" He asked confused.

"Weren't you upset a while ago?" The young man looked amused. "I only wanted to know if now you're feeling better or not."

"Oh," Marco looked surprised for a moment before his gaze softened.

Ace was a pretty unique person. Most wouldn't bother doing something like that for a stranger or, if they did, they'd have had some other motive behind. The blond usually wouldn't follow someone who offered something, even if it was someone younger than him. However, he knew he was a good judge of character, and the sincerity in those gray eyes was unmistakable.

"Thank you. I'm actually feeling better." He finally replied with a soft smile.

Ace chuckled. "That's great!"

They continued talking for a long time, and Marco found himself increasingly captivated by this young man. It was only when the teenagers that he had forgotten were also at the pierleft, that he realized a long time must have passed since they had left the club.

"Do you have to go?" Ace asked, noticing the blond's sudden distraction, barely concealed disappointment in his voice.

Marco shook his head. "No, I'll stay a little longer." And Thatch wouldn't be able to complain afterwards because the blond had finally found someone interesting like his siblings wanted.

"That's good!" The brunet stretched before lying down. "So, what happened after that?"

Marco decided to do like him and lied on his side, supporting his elbow on the wooden floor and leaning his head on his hand. Turning his gaze to Ace, he continued the story about his last trip, loving the way the brunet seemed so interested in it.

Marco didn't realize how or when, but at some point while they talked, the distance between he and Ace had gradually closed until they were less than a foot apart. The blond noticed this while Ace was chattering away and wasn't able to prevent his gaze from focusing on those lips that were now so temptingly close to him.

The brunet said a few more words before he trailed off, clearly having noticed the small distance between them. Marco stared at those gray eyes that looked back with the same intensity and took it as a positive sign that Ace hadn't moved away.

Marco felt the beginning of a smirk appear on his face as he ran his tongue over his lips slowly. In response, Ace smiled seductively while biting his softly. A game had been created immediately and both wanted to see who would give in first.

The distance between them began to decrease again, and Marco felt his heart start to race as he drew closer to the lips he wanted more than anything to course, it was then that his bad luck decided to show itself. He was truly cursed.

A quick and energetic beat started and stopped seconds after, indicating that what was received was a message. Ace swore as they startled and moved away. A string of curses followed while the brunet took his phone from his pocket.

Marco watched him cringe when the light from the cellphone bothered his eyes before he pushed a few buttons and started reading the message. The scowl on his face was quickly replaced by a worried look.

The blond was about to ask what was wrong when Ace suddenly got up while putting it back in his pocket. He helped Marco stand before giving him a peck on the mouth. The blond felt himself freeze slightly at the sudden feeling of those soft lips touching his.

"Sorry, but I have to go now. I'll call you later, okay?" He looked hopefully at Marco.

Slightly stunned at how quickly everything was happening, the blond merely nodded.

Ace smiled. "Great! See you then!"

And with that, he started running, quickly leaving the pier, turning on a street and disappearing from the blond's sight.

Marco shook his head, amused, before bending to pick up the empty ice cream bowls. That had been an interesting night. It was only a pity that he hadn't been able to properly kiss the brunet, but at least he seemed to want to see him again.

It was then that he suddenly stopped walking. Passing a hand over his face, he let out a frustrated grunt and threw the bowls in the trash harshly.

He had completely forgotten that neither he nor Ace had had time to get each other's number!

* * *

"Ace, you're awake! That's great, so we can-" His brother's voice was the first thing that the brunet heard upon entering the kitchen. With a steady scowl on his face, Ace glared at him.

"No."

"Oh, come on! Please!" The younger one pouted while using his abandoned puppy look. Normally, it always worked, but today Ace was too annoyed to care.

"I already said no. Ask Sabo."

"But he has work today! Come on, why not?" His brother whined.

"_Because_," Ace started while he began to prepare a cup of coffee for himself. "That's _your_ role, Luffy."

"But I can't do it like this!" Luffy pointed to his bandaged arm that was being supported by sling. "I swear I've already tried! Ask Sabo, he saw me!"

The blond, who had been trying to hold back his laughter, turned a startled look to the youngest of the three. "Oi, don't drag me into this, Luffy! You were the one who was careless and ended up hurt."

"But those guys were threatening Vivi! Of course we couldn't just stand by and not do anything!" Luffy huffed.

"Sure, but that's not how you got hurt." Sabo pointed out before taking a sip of his coffee. Ace had joined them at the table and was already eating his breakfast.

"The cat had caught my hat!" Came the defensive response. "What did you expect me to do?"

"Preferably _not_ climb a tree and _fall_." Ace replied bitterly while spreading some butter on a piece of bread.

Luffy and Sabo exchanged a look before the blond nodded slowly. "You were really luck to have only gotten a few scratches and a broken arm. You should be more careful."

_If only telling him that worked..._ Ace sighed before turning to the youngest of the brothers. "Sabo is right. At least your friends were able to take you to Chopper's grandmother, but what if she couldn't help you at that time? It _was_ late, definitely not a normal time for someone to get hurt like that..." His tone was a little bitter.

Luffy pouted again while Sabo smirked, somehow having connected the dots of what Ace hadn't told them.

"So, that's why you're in a bad mood, huh?" The blond said in an amused tone. "Usopp's message interrupted something, didn't it?"

The way the brunet's face got a slight tint of red was all the answer Sabo needed before he started laughing.

"Oh, shut up!" Ace muttered while kicking the blond's leg under the table.

"What are you talking about?" Luffy asked looking confused from one brother to the other.

"Apparently, Ace had found someone he was interested in, and when Usopp sent that message to tell us what had happened, it interrupted them at some important moment." The blond replied before he dodged another kick.

"That's why you're angry with me?" Luffy turned to Ace, who sighed before passing a hand through his hair.

"I'm not angry with you, I am with myself. In reality, the message worried me a lot, so I ended up leaving in a rush to get to you." Seeing Sabo's amused look, he amended. "But Usopp did make it out to be more serious!"

" I can't disagree with that. He always overreacts." Sabo nodded. "But it's great that you found someone. Are you going to call him?"

Sabo certainly didn't expect to see his brother sheepishly looking away.

"Ace? You remembered to get his number, right?"

When he only received silence in response, the blond groaned.

"You don't have to say anything, okay? I already know how much I screwed up this time." Ace muttered glaring at his coffee as he took a sip from it.

"Maybe you'll meet him again." Luffy said hesitantly, trying to avoid reigniting Ace's earlier wrath.

"That's it!" Ace hit his mug on the table, wincing when the action caused a loud noise. "I'll search for him! He must have realized that we don't have each other's number, so he might appear again in the same places where we were."

"Maybe." Sabo said with an uncertain expression. "But this is a big city, Ace. Don't get too disappointed if you don't find him. There are several other people out there."

Ace shook his head. "I know, but I'll try anyway." He finally smiled. "It's worth trying."

Finishing his breakfast quickly, Ace turned to the other brunet in the kitchen. "So, where is it?"

Luffy beamed to him before getting up and start talking about the backpack that was in his bedroom. Ace followed and after changing clothes, took the backpack with them. They said goodbye to Sabo as they left.

With a smile, the brunet followed his brother to wherever they had to go. He was determined to find Marco again. After having found such a handsome and interesting guy, having shot in the dark and hit - because his invitation might have been denied if the other thought it was weird or wasn't interested in guys - he wouldn't let him escape so easily. Marco had caught his attention too firmly for him to simply forget the blond.

* * *

Marco sighed while looking at the camera in his hands. He looked through the lens, waited a few seconds and pressed a button, the sound of a picture being taken the following soon after. Starting to walk again, the blond looked around while trying to find something else for him to take a picture of.

Since the previous night - or very early that morning - his mood hadn't been very good. When he returned to the club, he found Thatch leaving it slightly intoxicated, which resulted in him having to take his brother home. As he had been expecting, when it was almost lunch time Thatch called him and asked why he had disappeared from the club - not missing the opportunity to tease the blond while suggesting what he had been doing.

This, however, only managed to make Marco's mood even worse. Being reminded that he had found someone who he had actually liked and had lost the chance - because even with the freckled young man forgetting it, _he_ could have remembered to exchange mobile numbers - was very annoying. He at least could have gotten the other's last name in order to find him on some social network - most people had one of those nowadays, after all.

But no, he hadn't done any of that and now had _no way_ to find the brunet again. He knew that well enough without having his brother remind him, _thank you very much_.

At least he'd managed to shut Thatch up.

Marco knew it wouldn't last long, however. Soon, his siblings would return to their attempts and maybe this time they'd start following him to make sure that something like this didn't happen again.

The blond snorted. As strange as it'd be, he wouldn't put it past them.

But right now he didn't want to think about any of that. He had decided to go to the park to take pictures - completely ignoring the annoying heat - since doing that used to relax him. However, even doing that wasn't succeeding. Ace's face insisted on appearing in his mind and distracting him. Marco could still remember very well that quick kiss that left him wanting more. The feel of the other so close to him, those lips on his like he had wanted so much, only to have them move away after a fleeting moment. Thinking back about how he had frozen because that had caught him by surprise, made him want to curse himself. If only he had been more aware he could have seen it coming and remembered to get Ace's phone number.

Marco shook his head slightly, trying to shake such thoughts from his mind. No, it was thoughts like these that he needed to banish from his head.

Going back to concentrating on what he was doing, the blond spent a good time simply walking around the park and taking pictures of anything that caught his eye. He knew that without the rest of his professional equipment he seemed like just an enthusiastic tourist, but since his goal wasn't to show that he was a photographer, he didn't really care.

It was already mid-afternoon when he finally sat on a bench and stopped to see the photos he had taken. As he expected, there was no spectacular ones, but some were good enough to go to one of his albums.

One of his favorites had been from when he had been so distracted he had taken the picture by mistake. It showed to anyone who looked at it an ordinary Sunday in the park - some people were talking to their companions; others were riding a bike, skateboard or skates; there were some children playing with a ball; a man trying to keep his dog away from others who seemed to be barking; there was even an interesting group of people wearing medieval costumes in the background. The blond felt sorry for them since they must have been suffering in those clothes because of the heat.

It would have been interesting to take another picture of them, but when Marco searched them, they were already gone.

Deciding that he'd taken enough for the day, the blond carefully put his camera in his backpack and headed for his apartment. He had promised his father that he'd go have dinner at his house sometime after returning to tell him about his trip. Since he had nothing else to do, he misght as well go tonight.

Hopefully, it'd help him keep a certain freckled young man from his mind.

* * *

"Why exactly are we doing this, Nami?" Ace asked through gritted teeth while he ran a hand across his sweaty forehead.

The redhead rolled her eyes. "I already told you. It's for a project."

"For college? But we're on our summer vacations, dammit!"

"Don't question the witch, Ace. This must be another one of her plans." Zoro crossed his arms while glaring at the cloth he was holding.

Sanji, who had been offering a bottle of water to Robin, turned and snapped. "Don't call the sweet Nami-san a witch, moss head!"

Nami rubbed her temples as she watched another fight between those two begin. Deciding to ignore them for now, she focused on Ace and Usopp.

"Okay, your clothes seem to be right." She nodded and, after going around them, clapped her hands. "Very well, I'll start taking the photos. Robin, can you help me put them in the right positions?"

"But of course." The dark-haired woman replied with a smile, clearly amused by the whole situation.

"Remind me to never accept doing something like this again." Ace muttered as the two girls moved his arms and legs until they seemed satisfied with their positions.

"At least you'll only do that today." Usopp grimaced while pulling one of the sleeves of his heavy shirt. "We'll have to participate in other photographic session like this one during the vacation."

"Will you two stop complaining? And Usopp, stop pulling it!" The redhead stepped back and got the camera that had been hanging by a rope around her neck. "I know wearing medieval styled clothes during summer must not be easy, but you'll be glad you did one day. Meanwhile, enjoy the beautiful view of the park and let me take these pictures."

"Why will I ever be glad I did this?" Ace rolled his eyes before freezing in a pose. Next to him, Usopp was doing the same while Zoro and Sanji were waiting a bit to the side, their fight already over. Under the shade of a tree, his brother was sitting on a bench with Chopper, Franky and Brook, all looking amused at the scene and acting as a "support team".

Ace shook his head mentally. His brother really had an interesting group of friends, though at the moment he'd rather be far away from said group if that meant he could take that costume off. He'd have to figure out a good way for his brother compensate him for this because staying under the sun with those clothes definitely wasn't easy.

Turning his eyes to look around - since if he moved his face even a little bit, he'd have to face a furious Nami - he realized that they had drawn considerable amount of attention. Many people were standing around looking at them with a diversity of different expressions; some even seemed to be taking pictures.

The brunet wasn't able to keep his eyes from searching among all those people the strange and attractive, at the same time, hairstyle that Marco had. When he found nothing, he had to hold back a sigh.

_Of course it wouldn't be that easy._

Hopefully, he'd see him tonight, though if that didn't happen, Ace would keep trying at least a while longer. He couldn't remember anyone else that had attracted him like that in such a short time, so the brunet couldn't help but be anxious to see him again.

"Okay, you two can go rest for a while. Zoro, Sanji, it's your turn!"

Sitting on the ground with a relieved sigh, Ace gratefully accepted the water bottle that was offered to him. His gaze turned to watch the blond and green haired men as they were positioned.

_It's actually fun when viewed from here._ He thought amused, while making himself comfortable since he'd have to be there for a long time.

* * *

The sound of a small bell announcing his entrance accompanied by cold air hitting his faces were the things that greeted Marco when he entered the coffee shop. Sighing with relief, the blond went to an empty table and sat down, putting his backpack and a package in the empty chair beside him.

"So you finally came to visit me after coming back, huh?" Asked an amused voice from behind him.

Marco turned with a smile to its owner. "Yeah, it's been a while."

The man shook his head slightly before going around the table to stand in front of the blond. Marco had to admit it was pretty weird to see Izo dressed in something other than one of his dresses or other fancy outfits, though the dark-haired man still managed to be elegant even with the simple uniform.

"How's everything?" Izo had a knowing smirk as he took a pad of paper and a pen from the pocket of his pants.

"Same as always. Since I just got back, I'll wait a little before starting a new album. I still have some to sell, so it won't be a problem." Marco answered with a small nervous smile.

Having such a big family like he had, Marco always spent his free time after returning from a trip visiting someone. He knew they all loved to hear firsthand how it was, especially when it was a long one like it had been this time, so he always had something to do and talk about.

However, after what had happened that night three days ago, he knew Izo wouldn't let him escape without telling him about it. He just couldn't understand why his brothers were so interested in his love life. Although he didn't like that thought, it had only been a one night thing – barely that, actually – so there wasn't much to talk about. But he knew that the dark-haired man had certainly heard about it, so the blond wanted to pretend as much as he could that he hadn't understood what the other actually wanted to know.

Izo hummed in agreement. "That's good. You deserve some rest." Then he raised an eyebrow, unsurprised by Marco's avoidance of the real question. "But you know that's not what I meant."

Marco sighed. Well, his plan hadn't worked even for five minutes this time. "I know, yoi."

"Then you owe me a story." Izo pointed his pen in his direction.

"All right, all right. Just not now." Marco took the package he had been carrying before. "I still have some things to do, so I just came here to give you this. Haruta told me to give it to you." And that wasn't an excuse, so Izo couldn't complain.

The dark-haired man seemed to know about it, since his face lit up before took it. "It's about time it arrived."

"Well, I should probably go now." Marco stood up and grabbed his backpack.

Only after he promised his brother that he'd visit him again soon and bought a bottle of water, could the blond make his escape from the coffee shop.

_Now I need to go the market._ He envisioned his mental list of things to do before turning into a street and continuing on his way quietly.

* * *

"Damn, where did I leave my cellphone?" Ace muttered while shaking his clothes and waiting to see if said object fell from them. When it didn't, the brunet dropped his uniform on the bench and started looking inside his backpack again. He couldn't have lost it, could he?

"Are you looking for this?" A voice asked from behind him.

Ace turned and saw his friend holding his cellphone with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes! Thanks, Izo." He rubbed his neck sheepishly before taking the object from the dark-haired man's hand. "I'd have some serious problems if I had really lost it."

"I found it on the floor near the boxes behind the counter. You should be more careful." Izo commented while he placed a package, which Ace had just noticed he had also been carrying, near his things. "I have to go back now, so I'll see you tomorrow."

"See you." Ace smiled while watching his coworker open the door leading into a small hallway where it was possible to see part of the coffee shop. The brunet absently noticed that the place was full, being grateful that his shift had already finished, before looking out the front windows and freezing.

He could have sworn he had just seen someone blond with a hairstyle that reminded him of a pineapple. The same one that Marco had.

Quickly putting on a shirt - since he was already with his shorts and shoes -, the brunet ran into the corridor and almost bumped into Izo. He went out through the side door dedicated to the employees and took a turn in order to stop in front of the entrance to the coffee shop

He turned his head from one side to the other and went a little more forward, looking for any sign of the blond. He walked to the next street, his gray eyes passing through all the people who were on the street, but didn't find him.

Cursing, the brunet sighed and made his way back to the coffee shop. He could have sworn that he had seen Marco, but now he wasn't so sure anymore. Maybe the heat was making him ill and he was starting to hallucinate seeing the blond everywhere. That certainly wouldn't be fun, since he would much rather find the real one.

Entering through the side door and going back to the staff room where he had left his uniform on a bench and his backpack, Ace ran a hand through his hair. It had been a few days and he hadn't seen Marco in any of the places where they were that night. Perhaps he hadn't been interested in Ace as much as the brunet had been in him. Finding him would certainly give the blond a lot of unwanted work if he simply wanted something for one night. Besides, there were many other people out there that he could choose from.

He put his uniform in his locker and grabbed his backpack feeling more discouraged than ever before turning to leave only to come face to face with Izo looking at him with folded arms.

"Can I know what just happened? Because you just went away with an expectant look and returned with that face." The older man asked, curiosity and concern lacing his voice.

Ace sat down heavily on the bench. "Won't you get in trouble if you don't go back to work?"

"Luckily for you, my lunch break just started. Now, spill it." Izo sat beside him.

With that, the freckled young man found himself telling the other about the curious man he had met. Maybe Izo could help him decide on what to do, since or he had to forget about the blond or he had to get a more solid way to find him.

When he finally turned to his friend, he was surprised to see a strange smile formed on the dark-haired man's face.

"Izo...?" He asked hesitantly.

"You said his name was Marco, right? Interesting..." The other brought a hand up to his chin with a thoughtful expression.

"So, what do you think?" Ace rolled his eyes. Sometimes Izo made no sense to him.

"I think I know what you can do." And the smile widened slightly as a strange glint appeared in his eyes. "But you'll have to do something for me first."

Ace swallowed thickly. There was no way to know what Izo wanted.

_What did I just get myself into?_

* * *

"Stefan! Come back here, boy!"

Marco rubbed his temples and sighed. Now that he was back from his trip, he had decided to go back to walking Stefan some days during the afternoon, as it was his habit. Doing that usually relaxed him – something he was in a dire need of, seeing as he had way too many things on his mind - but not today.

For some reason, not long after they had arrived at the park, the big white dog suddenly turned around and started running in a random direction. As the blond had been taken back by the sudden action, he wasn't able to hold the leash tightly enough, and Stefan had soon disappeared.

"Where could he be?" He muttered to himself looking around. It was a fact that the dog had a sensible nose and ears, but he didn't know what exactly had called his attention.

When he still didn't find the animal, Marco began to search for something in the pocket of his pants. With some difficulty, he pulled out a silver whistle.

"I hope you'll listen, Stefan." And with that, the blond blew the dog whistle twice.

Some other animals turned to look at him, but luckily none did anything else. Once again, Marco passed his blue eyes through his surroundings until he heard a loud barking approaching him.

He turned just in time to grab Stefan and prevent him from tackling him. The white dog was wagging his tail and looking at him innocently, as if he hadn't been away for even a second.

"Well, at least you came back quickly." Marco shook his head in exasperation while he petted the dog's head.

Taking the leash and this time making sure that he was holding it firmly, Marco started going toward the library. He had already lost enough time with his unexpected delay, so he'd better hurry or he'd be late.

For some reason, Izo had told him to meet him there and refused to tell him the reason. Marco eventually accepted, since he had enough experience to know that when the dark-haired man was planning something he'd find a way to make that happen whether others cooperated or not.

Sighing, Marco only wished that this wasn't going to be another one of his attempts at introducing someone to him.

* * *

Ace glanced over the books before shaking his head. He looked at the shelves around him and frowned. There were way too many books in that library, how did Sabo expect him to find the one he wanted?

Making sure once more that he was in the right section, the brunet returned to trying to find what his brother wanted him to buy without forgetting to glare at the heavy bag he was carrying.

Inside it, there was a package full of dog biscuits that had a strong smell that he decided he hated. Ace didn't know why Izo wanted him to buy it, but it definitely wouldn't help him in any way. All it had done so far was make some dogs turn in his direction and make a big one suddenly appear and almost make him fall to the ground. It seemed like the animals really liked this kind.

_Well, maybe this is not part of the help, and he's just asking for a favor in return._ He thought uncertainly, before a triumphant expression appeared on his face when he found the sociology book.

_I don't get how Sabo can like this sort of thing, but oh well. At least now I can go home._

With that, he headed to the cashier and quickly paid for the book before leaving the bookstore and being hit by a wave of heat.

"At least it was cooler in there." The brunet muttered to himself as he lifted a hand to shield his eyes from the sun.

However, by doing so he didn't see the figure that was running toward him, which resulted in him lying stunned on the floor with something heavy on top of him. A bark sounded close to his ear followed by the feeling of his face being licked.

Ace opened his eyes with a groan and saw a big white dog on him. He noted mildly amused that it seemed to have a mustache in the shape of a half-moon before finally realizing that it was the same one that had come to him on the park.

"You again. Did you somehow smell the biscuits, or did you just decide you like me?" He stared at the animal that only barked in response. It sniffed the air before turning to the bags that Ace had dropped on the ground and nudge one with his nose.

"No, no. They aren't for you. Forget about them, okay?" Ace tried to push it away but realized that in the position he was in, he wouldn't have much luck in doing so. _Can't anyone help me? Where's this dog's owner, anyway?_

"Bad boy! Stefan! Come back here!"

_Speak of the devil._ Vaguely, the brunet realized that the big dog had been taken away from him, but he didn't pay much attention to that as he stood up and rubbed his head. That fall had actually hurt.

"Sorry about that. He ended up escaping from-" An oddly familiar male voice said making him look up.

His gray eyes widened and he was sure that the look of surprise on the blond's face was the same one that was in his. He couldn't believe it. Of all the possible ways...

"Marco!" He grinned. Just when he was starting to think about trying to forget the blond, he appeared right before him.

Said blond smiled back and helped him up. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to buy a book for my brother," the freckled man lifted one of the bags. "And you?"

"I was walking him before coming to meet my brother here." Marco nodded toward the dog who now sat quietly while wagging his tail and staring at one of Ace's bag. "Listen, about Saturday," the blond began, his smile dropping from his face. "I'm sorry for not giving you my number or anything, I just-"

"No, no! That was my fault." The brunet interrupted him before rubbing his neck sheepishly. "I had received a message saying that my brother had gotten hurt and just overreacted when in the end it was nothing serious, but only when I was sure about that, that I realized I had left in such a hurry that I didn't get your number which really made me feel like an idiot."

He closed his mouth when he realized that he was beginning to babble and felt his face get a bit red. Now he was feeling stupid. After all that time, this was the impression he was going to give Marco?

Luckily for him, the blond didn't seem to care and just chuckled softly. "Well, at least we were able to meet again. I didn't think it'd happen, yoi."

"I was beginning to lose hope too." Ace admitted. "I thought my biggest chance to see you again was at one of the places where we went, but since you didn't show up for a few days..."

The blond pinched the bridge of his nose nervously. "Actually, I hadn't thought of that. It's a pretty obvious place to go, now that you mention it..."

He shook his head and was ready to say something else when a comment a little to the right of where they were caught their attention.

"Awn, they're really cute together!"

"They are, aren't they? Something finally went right."

The blond and the brunet turned to see Izo, one of his usual dresses and his black hair in a bun in place, accompanied by a petite girl with short light brown hair.

"Izo! What're you doing here?" Ace looked curiously and a bit frustrated at the two that were approaching them. He could be his friend, but now that he finally had time with Marco, he wanted to enjoy it.

"You know each other?" The surprise in Marco's tone made Ace turn to him.

"Yes, we work at the same place."

The blond sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "That explains it." Seeing Ace's confused look, he added. "Izo is my brother."

And that was all the brunet needed to understand what had happened.

"Don't say it with that tone, dear brother. It's thanks to me that you found the brunet that has been constanly in your thoughts these last few days." The dark-haired man smirked.

Marco opened and closed his mouth a few times as a light shade of red appeared on his face, making Ace laugh. So he'd been thinking about him, huh?

"You still could have just told us." The blond finally said while glaring at his brother.

Izo shrugged. "But then it wouldn't have been fun. I had already been planning on introducing you two, but since you already knew each other I thought I could make your encounter be a little different."

"But didn't you say this wasn't actually your plan?" The girl raised an eyebrow.

"Details." The other rolled his eyes. "And it worked in the end." With that, he turned to Ace and gestured with his hand toward the brunette. "Ace, this here is Haruta, our sister."

"What's up?" The girl nodded with a smile before getting Stefan's leash from Marco's hand. "We'll stay with Stefan and the biscuits too, then."

"Here." Ace quickly held out the hand that was holding the bag with the dog biscuits.

"Thank you for buying them for me. They are Stefan' favorite ones, he can smell them from far away." Izo smiled while taking it. "Well, now we'll be going. Enjoy yourselves!" And with that both were soon gone.

Ace heard Marco sigh and turned to see him shaking his head. "He's really impossible."

"But at least we met again." The brunet shrugged chuckling.

The blond smiled. "Do you have something to do right now?" When the freckled young ma shook his head negatively, his smile widened. "What do you say we go get some ice cream, then?"

Ace's grin was all the answer he needed.

The rest of the afternoon passed smoothly, both enjoying the other's company and getting to know each other even more. The attraction they had felt that Saturday was still very strong, which made their conversations full of flirting and insinuations.

When it was night and they were sitting at the same pier, Ace sighed happily, drawing the blond's attention. When asked what was wrong, the brunet simply shook his head and with a smirk moved his hand to Marco's neck before pulling him closer.

The kiss started out simple, their lips moving slowly, enjoying the feeling of the other against them. Then the blond ran his tongue over the Ace's lips, which made him open his mouth and join his against Marco's, quickly creating a game for control.

When they parted, Ace realized that Marco's breathing was as heavy as his. Their eyes locked on each other's before Ace saw the blond smirk. When he felt the blond's lips touch his again hungrily, the brunet felt his eyes close in pleasure before he answered with equal enthusiasm.

For the time being there was no need for words to be exchanged between them. After all, they still had a long night ahead of them.


End file.
